Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2006

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that ithas considered the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2006 [35th Report from the Joint Committee]. The noble Lord said: The purpose of the order is to reclassify the substance methylamphetamine from a class B drug to a class A drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. As is required by the Act, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs has been consulted and agrees with the proposal. Methylamphetamine has been controlled as a class B drug under Schedule 2 to the 1971 Act from the outset of that legislation. It also has recognised medicinal benefits when in the form of a medicinal product—including treatment of attention deficitand hyperkinetic disorder—and consequently is categorised as a Schedule 2 drug under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations, so that doctors can prescribe it where necessary. Prevalence of misuse of methylamphetamine has been very low in the United Kingdom. Nevertheless, there are sound reasons for this proposal to reclassify the drug to class A. Relative harmfulness is central to our drug classification system. Our drugs laws should accurately reflect the relative harmfulness of drugs, when they are misused, both to the individual and to society at large. The Committee will know that the drug classification system under the Misuse of Drugs Act has come under very close scrutiny recently. The Government believe that the current three-tier system is fit for its fundamental purpose of providing a framework within which criminal penalties are set with reference to the harm caused by a drug and the type of illegal activity undertaken in regard to that drug. The system allows for clear and meaningful distinctions to be made between drugs. There is a wide understanding that class A drugs are the most dangerous substances and therefore carry the heaviest criminal penalties, while class C drugs, although still harmful, are not of the same order. It is this coherent system which has stood the test of time and which, for so long as it remains, we now propose to reapply to methylamphetamine. The action that we are taking to reclassify methylamphetamine is a good example of a fully functioning system where we are revisiting a drug’s classification in light of new evidence. In the case of methylamphetamine, we have to decide how to respond to a drug that can be misused and can cause serious social problems, but has no significant prevalence in the United Kingdom at present. It is this potential for harm rather than methylamphetamine’s current prevalence here that is central to the proposal to reclassify the drug toclass A. Methylamphetamine’s harmfulness equates to that of other class A substances, both at the level of the individual and of society more widely. It is a derivative of amphetamine, which is a class B drug, but it is much more potent than other forms of the drug, with the potential for greater physical and psychological harm. It can quickly become highly addictive. Its reclassification to a class A drug will accurately reflect this relative harmfulness. International experience documents the devastating impact of widespread misuse of methylamphetamine on society and the environment. Its use can increase risky sexual behaviour, thereby increasing the risk of blood-borne virus transmission; and it is a risk factor for aggression and violence, as well as acquisitive crime. Also, methylamphetamine manufacture exposes individuals and the environment to flammable and hazardous chemicals and production methods and to toxic waste by-products. In its report published in November 2005, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs considered that, based on the then current situation in the United Kingdom, it would be inappropriate to reclassify methylamphetamine as a class A drug. Instead, the council recommended the development of an effective early warning system to monitor any shifts in the patterns of prevalence of methylamphetamine in the United Kingdom. The council’s report is accessible from the Home Office website. In May this year, the council reviewed its decision in the light of further evidence and recommended that methylamphetamine be reclassified as a class A drug. Again, the council’s advice is available on the Home Office website. The prevalence of the drug in the United Kingdom continued to remain low, but the council was persuaded by the harmfulness of methylamphetamine and the international experience of the serious social problems caused by methylamphetamine misuse, as well as by intelligence provided by the Association of Chief Police Officers, which fully supports the reclassification of methylamphetamine to class A. If the order is approved by both Housesand is signed in Privy Council when it meets on14 December, it will come into force five weeks after it has been made to allow sufficient time to advise the police, the courts and other interested bodies that methylamphetamine will be the subject of control as a class A drug. That would result in a commencement date of 18 January 2007. The maximum penalty for unauthorised production, importation and supply of methylamphetamine as a class A drug will be life imprisonment and/or a fine. The maximum sentence for the offence of possession of methylamphetamine will be seven years’ imprisonment and/or a fine. Reclassification to a class A drug will be a key element in the prevention of a significant escalation in the illicit use of methylamphetamine and the social problems that it could cause. It will provide a platform for greater enforcement activity, enabling the police to close premises where methylamphetamine drugs are being used, sold or manufactured, as they currently do with ““crack houses””, under the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. This police power of closure is for class A drugs only. In particular, as a class A drug, methylamphetamine will be an explicit priority for the Serious Organised Crime Agency, which will direct its resources and enforcement activities accordingly. We are also implementing key recommendations of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs’ report around an early warning system to monitor prevalence. Methylamphetamine’s main precursor chemicals—ephedrine and pseudoephedrine—are already listed as controlled precursors under European legislation, and we have now reached agreement on placing red phosphorus on the EU voluntary monitoring list that checks for suspicious transactions in chemicals. We are exploring ways to take a more robust response, but it must be remembered that these substances also have legitimate industrial uses, so it not simply a case of halting their supply. We are also taking steps to ensure that national survey data differentiate between methylamphetamine and amphetamines, which will assist in our monitoring of prevalence. The Government will publicise the change in the law with regard to methylamphetamine through a Home Office circular and through the Talk toFrank and www.drugs.gov.uk websites. Reference to the law change and health risks relating to methylamphetamine will be included in future government educational materials for young people. This measure is very much in line with the Government’s commitment to cause maximum disruption to drug markets and thus protect young people from the harms of being exposed to dangerous drugs. For those reasons, I commend the proposed change. I beg to move. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (Amendment) Order 2006 [35th Report from the Joint Committee].—(Lord Bassam of Brighton.)